If you had told me before the game that Justin Fields was going to pass for 312 yards and a touchdown, and that the offense was going to put up 404 total yards and 24 points, I would have been completely shocked to have learned the Pittsburgh Steelers ultimately lost the game to the Indianapolis Colts.
“The thing that worried you a little bit now, the defense man,” said Rex Ryan via ESPN’s Get Up this morning. “They gave up eight converted third downs. Now that’s not a Pittsburgh Steeler defense. T.J. Watt, no sacks. Like I was shocked by that defense couldn’t get off the field.”
Entering the game, the Steelers were allowing per-game averages of 8.7 points, 229.7 total yards, 71.3 rushing yards, and 158.3 passing yards. Against the Colts, they allowed 27 points, 358 total yards, 225 passing yards, and 133 rushing yards.
It didn’t look right from the very beginning of the game. The Colts came out with energy and were flying around on both sides of the ball. The Steelers’ defense was out of position, missing tackles, and failing to capitalize on the many opportunities they had. Next thing you know, the Colts had already scored 17 points over the first three drives.
It is one thing that they allowed so much to Anthony Richardson. His talents were on full display early in the game. But once Joe Flacco came in the game, they still were having issues getting off the field.
The most troubling stat of the day was the number of third down conversions they allowed. As Alex Kozora pointed out in the below tweets, the Steelers’ defense allowed six conversions from 3rd and 6 yards or longer. That is completely unacceptable. Especially when considering they were allowing conversions on just 13.6 percent on third down entering the week.
The defense was on historic pace in basically every category entering the week. It was a small sample size, but they were completely dominating everybody they faced. Now they have been exposed a bit. Will this be a trend, or was it an outlier game? The highest-paid defense in the league now needs to have a big-time response against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football in Week 5.
